Moorhead at Roseau
6 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 9

Since 1996, no other team in Class 2A, Section 8 has won a section championship beyond Moorhead and Roseau. That’s 18 years of dominance by the two northwestern Minnesota superpowers. But could it be coming to an end this year?

No. 16-2A Moorhead (3-2-0) might be the section favorite but did give away a third-period lead in a 4-2 home loss to Bemidji last Tuesday. The Spuds responded to that disappointment with big wins over Fargo South and Buffalo by a combined score of 14-3. Senior defensemen Alex Mehnert (0-9-9) and Will Borgen (0-6-6) jumpstart the Spuds’ offense from the blue line and are first and third on the team in scoring, respectively. Expect both to get plenty of ice time when Moorhead visits Roseau (3-2-0) Tuesday night.

The Rams are a new-look bunch after graduating all but four goal scorers and their starting goaltender from last year’s state tournament team. That inexperience — but talent — has led to some wide swings in results so far. Roseau has beaten three good teams (Thief River Falls, Blaine and Hibbing/Chisholm) while only allowing four total goals, but have also been shut down by St. Cloud Tech and Grand Rapids, scoring two goals in total. Logan Monsrud (4-4-8) has stepped nicely into the scoring void, including netting both goals in a 2-1 win against Hibbing/Chisholm.